Thirteen persons were “arrested for attempting to import more than 6.5 tons of cocaine in crates of bananas to the port of Algeciras from South America,” the Guardia Civil said in a press release.
The Spanish gendarmerie announced on Thursday that it proceeded together with the Colombian authorities to seize a total of more than 6.5 tons of cocaine that were going to enter Spain through the port of Algeciras, in the Strait of Gibraltar, hidden in cardboard boxes of bananas.
Thirteen persons were “arrested for attempting to import more than 6.5 tons of cocaine in crates of bananas to the port of Algeciras from South America,” the Guardia Civil said in a press release.
Two seizures, respectively 3 and 1.25 tons, were made in Colombia in December and a third, 2.29 tons, from Ecuador, in the port of Algeciras in May.
The head of the ring responsible is “considered to be among the main drug traffickers in Spain” and is “based in Malaga,” the Spanish gendarmerie added, without specifying whether he had been arrested.
The total value of the seized drugs on the black market is estimated to exceed 233 million euros.
The ring sought to ensure the cooperation of public officials in the ports of Algeciras and the countries of South America from where the quantities of drugs departed, the gendarmerie statement added.
In addition to the drugs, over one and a half million euros in cash, luxury cars and watches were seized after raids on various houses and warehouses in the provinces of Cadiz and Malaga (southern Spain), especially in Algeciras.
Spain’s ties to Latin America, where most of the cocaine trafficked on a global scale comes from, have turned the Iberian country into one of Europe’s main drug gateways.
Source :Skai
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